Hyenas are not one of the big five game spotting animals (since they were not one of the most dangerous ones to hunt in the days of the origin of the big five); yet there are among the most difficult to spot, perhaps even rarer than the leopard.
The hyena is a family of animals consisting of the brown hyena, the striped hyena, the spotted hyena, and the aardwolf, of which only the spotted hyena is found in South Africa. It is the smallest carnivore family and the youngest – dating back only 10 million years.
Stereotypically hyenas are viewed as sneaky scavengers, often stealing prey from lions and other big carnivores. The reality is quite the opposite – the spotted hyena is said to kill about 95% of the animals it eats and often has to protect its kill from a lion – and will do so quite aggressively despite the significant size disadvantage. The hyena is able, unlike many carnivores, to eat and digest bone, horns, and teeth and it is the only carnivore that eats hides. It more completely and efficiently utilizes its prey than any other carnivore. Of course this is all information which I have read, not experienced.
This photo is our first sighting of the hyena.
 |
Hyena - First Sighting
|
Yup -- not a very good photo. But you can notice several things.
1) It is already dark – the sun has set and we’re heading back to camp, using a spotlight to search for whatever might be out there. And, true to its nocturnal aspect, the hyena is there. It is about 6:30 in the evening (remember it’s winter).
2) Note the long neck, a characteristic of the hyena family
3) Note the spots. This is how we can tell it’s a spotted hyena – well that and the fact that the spotted hyena is the only member of the hyena family generally found in South Africa.
Two days later we’re again on our way back to camp but it is still light outside – it being about 45 minutes earlier. And looking up the “road” we’re crossing what do we see but another hyena.
 |
| Second Hyena - Up the Road |
Again, not a very good photo. Since we’re in twilight the light level is low and there are many artifacts in the photo as a result of this. But we can clearly see this hyena and since it’s looking off to the side, we can see the characteristic long neck.
The next two photos (all of the photos from the one immediately above to the end of this post are in chronological order and were taken over a time span from about 5:54 to 6:03 pm and of the same hyena) show the hyena moving down the path. So far it does not appear to be significantly concerned about us.
 |
| Hyena Approaching - 1 |
 |
| Hyena Approaching - 2 |
The hyena finally looks once more off the road, showing its long neck, and this time leaves the road, although I don’t know if that is because of us or because it has spotted something off the road.
 |
| Hyena Beginning to Move Off Road |
About 3 minutes later we spot the hyena again, this time off in the brush.
 |
| Hyena - In the Brush |
This picture shows most clearly the relationship between hyenas and dogs.
And this next photo, taken just after the above one, shows again the characteristic long neck.
 |
| Hyena - Long Neck |
Several minutes later we again come on the hyena and the photo strongly resembles the one taken two days earlier, raising the question whether this was a different hyena or the same one spotted on two different days.
 |
| Hyena - Clearly Spotted |
No comments:
Post a Comment